


golden crowns

by abettafish



Series: wanderlust [6]
Category: DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alpha Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Alpha Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Philza, Blood, Explicit Language, Fights, M/M, Omega Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Omega GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29836533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abettafish/pseuds/abettafish
Summary: “Not at all. I was,regrettably, part of the Pillager Nether Transports. I distinctly remember hunting a kid being protected by a Piglin boy.”Dream’s scent turns sour – rotten and like bugs on a corpse. A growl ripples from Technoblade, sudden and angry, and it makes Dream flinch terribly.“You two remind me of them,” The man smiles, and it’s a vile looking thing.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: wanderlust [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030302
Comments: 74
Kudos: 341





	golden crowns

**Author's Note:**

> cw// discussion of human trafficking + the most minor of uncomfy closeness (sexual).
> 
> A bit more lore I failed to deliver on in a previous installment in this one. This is going to be multi-chaptered and the start of the end of this series! I love it dearly so, but I am running out of ideas for these two. This one is also going to delve a bit more into typical abo story themes!

_A masquerade party_ – Technoblade frowns at the invitation. It’s from a group he isn’t familiar with. He knows they were at the last gathering, but that was months ago and, to be honest, Techno didn’t think they would last long. Apparently, they were a group of former Pillagers and other unsavory characters trying to turn a new leaf to _heal_. It was an amiable foundation and Techno is sure he would have paid a bit more attention to them if he didn’t have unpleasant memories and opinions associated with those who chose to be Pillagers in the first place.

Phil tells him they should go, however, as a courtesy, and that’s how he finds himself prowling along the ballroom floor towards a masked figure. It’s an ironic sight to see _Dream_ at a _masquerade_ , considering, but the other has dressed the mask up with a golden crown that has red roses adorning it. He knows exactly what inspired the choice, but he isn’t going to say anything, just smile playfully to himself. His own mask is that of a pig skull, stylized to be more compact, but it still imposes a sense of danger that Techno liked to carry himself with at parties – kept away people trying to have idle _chit-chat_ with him.

He fails to consider, though, one of the party’s hosts doing their due diligence and _greeting_ their guests. A man, Alpha in nature, approaches the two with three glasses in his hands. He offers two of the drinks over to the pair as he addresses them.

“Glad ya two could come, considering I was the only one with the balls to invite you,” He says. Techno merely sips from his glass as Dream takes control of the conversation easily and with practiced skill.

“Thank you for extending the invite. It’s _interesting_ to see a group such as yourselves form,” Dream’s voice toes the border of being terse, and Techno can only imagine that his own presence here is what pushed Dream to even attend this party in the first place. He feels a small pang of guilt bounce off his heart like a sharp pebble. There isn’t much he can do about it now, however, and maybe he’ll whisk Dream away from all the festivities early. It’s something they would both prefer anyways.

“Ah, yes, most of us here have troubled pasts. Mine is no better,” He confesses. Techno lowers at the man – his scent is _off_. Techno just can’t pinpoint why that is. He feels like he did that day in the forest before he was gifted an arrow through the neck. It isn’t a promising thought to have.

“Would you mind me prying about what made it that way?” Dream tiptoes into the question. They both know it’s a rude inquiry, considering their goals to “turn a new leaf” here, and letting bygone be bygones is a formally accepted truth, but they value their own piece of mind over this man’s feelings.

“Not at all. I was, _regrettably_ , part of the Pillager Nether Transports. I distinctly remember hunting a kid being protected by a Piglin boy.”

Dream’s scent turns sour – rotten and like bugs on a corpse. A growl ripples from Technoblade, sudden and angry, and it makes Dream flinch terribly. If the attention of the room wasn’t on them from Dream’s encroaching scent, then his warning growl certainly pulls it to them. A hush settles over the portion of the room they stand in and the duo both shrink under the looks. The man laughs, easing the tension for everyone in the room except the pair that created it.

“You two remind me of them,” The man smiles, and it’s a vile looking thing. His voice is full of maggots that wriggle like the grossly false tone of friendlessness he is slowly failing to keep up. A tinge of burnt meat reaches his nose and Techno realizes this man is _fuming_ under all his pleasantries. Techno feels his nose twitch, the precursor to another rumble bubbling in his chest like lava. He registers Dream crowding into his side, pressing his hip to Techno’s and fitting snugly against him, like he is trying to combine their mass to make an already menacing duo into something more intimidating . Suddenly, the pair of two turns to five as Phil, Sapnap, and George appear at their sides. Phil is all smiles, able to pull a fake front faster than the rest.

“Making friends without us?” He asks, blatantly _not_ scandalized, but pretending to be anyways.

“Hopefully!” The man’s voice has a bite behind it, but he hides it by taking a mouthful of his own drink. The group stares him down and even an Alpha like Techno would feel intimidated by the sight.

“I’ll be on my way, then, got a few more people to greet. I hope to see ya _soon_ ,” He nods his head and slips away from them. There is a breakable silence left behind and Dream takes a pickaxe to it.

“Disgusting piece of _shit_ ,” He hisses. Techno turns so he is blocking Dream off from the rest of the masquerade and he crowds Dream away with soothing shushes.

“What the hell was that?” George asks. The question fires the Omega up.

“That _vile_ man, that _Pillager –”_ Dream spits as he grips Techno’s arm, trying to glance over it and locate the man in the crowd so then maybe the daggers coming from his eyes might meet their mark.

“ _Dream_ ,” Techno says firmly. Dream’s eyes fly to him, the fury still burning wildly, “We are not in a position of power here. Nothing you’re thinking will end well.”

“You _know_ what that man did to me – to _us_. He isn’t trying to change! He’s trying to, to –!” Dream mouth trips over itself, his words stumbling out faster than it can handle with his broiling emotions. The Omega lets out a frustrated noise.

“…What did he do?” Sapnap’s voice is small, like when they were younger or around large group of new people. The unsureness stemming from the always lingering mystery surrounding Dream. Sapnap grew up with him – he should know about this, shouldn’t he?

Techno and Dream both stare the trio down with a sense of foreboding seeping into the air between them. It was an unintentional secret that they always kept. A combination of never the right time and an unwillingness to speak about bad memories. For the longest time it had felt like the point for the right moment had come and passed. The world seems to have decided that is untrue.

“Let’s speak elsewhere,” Phil says. He leads them away, out of the main ballroom and into the outside world, where snow is covering the courtyard ground and the chill is keeping the people inside. It’s secluded and where the words they’re about to speak into existence can stay a secret between them.

“How do you know that guy?” Sapnap urges them. Techno lets his eyes fall on Dream, who knows more of the beginning of this story than he ever will. Dream swallows heavily.

“You know when I was brought to your village when we were kids, right?” Dream asks. Sapnap nods his head.

“Yeah, and then you never took that mask off,” He pokes at the Omega. Dream huffs out a laugh.

“Oh, come on – you, whatever. Just the people, who brought me, they were a group that dedicated themselves to fighting back against raids and other Pillager activities. It was bad back then. They would raid entire villages and burn them to the ground. Mine was no different, but when they attacked mine it was specifically for the Omega trades. Their new tactic back then was grabbing kids that looked like they were Omega leaning. It made it easier to… _train_ them for selling,” Dream sneers the word. Techno reaches over and gently takes his hand in his. Instantly, the Omega’s fingers are curling tightly around the Alpha’s.

“They would throw them into the Nether and, while it was dangerous, it was easier to round them up and transport them faster. I wasn’t really _picked_ for this. I was the great idea for closing the nether portal on the other side so then the kids they threw in couldn’t get back out. I had TNT attached to me and was tossed in – by _that man._ ” Dream side glances Techno, who hasn’t taken his eyes off the Omega for an instant.

“I got really hurt, and I would have probably died in there. But – Techno found me and saved me.” The climax of the statement makes multiple sets of eyes fall to him. He glances to Phil, who, while obviously receiving new information, doesn’t looked shocked. The hybrid has always had an inkling of an idea that his surrogate father knew there was _something_ more between Dream and him than just a ridiculous amount of chemistry.

They had bonded for a year in the Nether. A strong knot of companionship that stood through the test of time. It was easy to fall back into the folds when they found one another again. The added mix of their now presented second genders only added the _extra_ bit of flame after they became reacquainted. Now, their childhood bond has grown into a grand thing, almost too large for them to contain on their own.

“Dream was hunted like the other kids, still,” Techno spoke up, since all the attention as on him, “I did my best to protect him, but we had a few extremely close calls. That man was a part of a majority of those. To be honest, I didn’t recognize him at first until he brought us up. He’s obviously still angry about his failed attempts in the Nether, not that I know _why_.”

“You did bite him pretty hard that one time,” Dream mutters to him. Techno drops his head and lets out a short, disbelief filled snort.

“I’m not sure that’s the real reason,” Techno says back. George motions with a hand to catch their narrowing attention.

“So, you two _knew_ each other before?” He asks.

Dream nods, “I lived in the Nether for a year with Techno.”

“That explains a lot, honestly,” Sapnap says, “You’re too good at navigating that place.”

Dream gives him a cheeky push with his free hand. 

“Oh, _perfect_!” A new voice rings across the open air. The group whirl around to see the troupe of new faces that has entered the small courtyard. At the lead was the man from earlier, and the men behind him were all holding crossbows. Techno’s limbs tense at the sight, every fiber of his being preparing for the worst. They had no weapons on them, since this was a _party_ , but the way the group spreads out around them is a blaring tell that they aren’t here to mingle cordially. Dream squeezes his hand and pulls in tight.

“Are we somewhere we shouldn’t be, boys?” Phil’s voice is strained. Techno is scouring the area with his eyes, trying to find the best way they can escape this situation. He doesn’t find it in time.

“Get them,” The man doesn’t waste time with banter and suddenly they’re being converged upon, crossbows pointed at all of them. They, however, fail to understand the group they are currently trying to capture won’t go down easily. The moment a hand is laid on Sapnap, he throws a brutal punch that floors the guy attempting to grab him. It makes two more guys unite on top of him, grabbing him by the arms and shoving him to the cold ground. His entire body rumbles with a warning growl, but the other men barely falter because of the knowledge that they outnumber them heavily.

The small tussle is the start of a chain reaction as George bats the nearest crossbow pointed at him towards the ground with an annoyance. He makes no move to strike the man carrying it, however, and that leaves the man unsure if he should retrain the arrow onto him. He does with hesitance, and George smacks the thing back down with an unamused expression. He wasn’t about to be knocked to the ground like Sapnap, but he also wasn’t pleased with the weapon being pointed at him.

Behind him, Phil has pushed his back against Techno’s as a habitual response to being surrounded by an enemy. The other pushes back, reassuring him that he is still there. Techno wants to push Dream behind him with Phil, every instinct in his body is telling him to protect the Omega. Nevertheless, in typical Dream fashion, he is standing his ground with confidence. The leader of the group, that despicable man, approaches Dream with a languid gait. 

“You caused me a lot of grief; you know?” He reaches his hand out to grab Dream’s face. The other pulls back, avoiding the touch with a low growl. Techno is there in an instant, pushing himself between Dream and the man, but the abrupt movement causes more of the man’s backup to lurch forward, grabbing the Alpha and tearing him away. The fight turns more violent instantly.

George’s hands tear the crossbow from the poor fool who had been pointing it at him, now reversing their roles. It does land two more crossbows pointed at him, but the Omega feels a worm of satisfaction at the stupid, surprised look on the other’s face. Sapnap has managed to get one of the men holding him down on the ground with him, where he’s gotten an arm around his neck. His partner is attempting to dislodge the Alpha with little success. Phil is quick to jump to Techno’s defense, turning with a small rumble to tackle one of them.

They don’t see Dream jolt forward to assault the man in front of him. Nor the way the man lifts his hand up and in a fluid motion grip Dream by the neck. He slides a foot to force the Omega off balance and then slams him to the ground. A pained keen leaves Dream’s throat, but he doesn’t let the pain bouncing around his back and ribcage stop him from lashing out. The Omega lets a fist fly. It knocks into the man’s shoulder with a heavy thud and sends little bits of pain darting up his wrist. The other, still fisting his neck and holding him firmly against the dirt, forces himself on top of Dream. It turns the Omega’s punches into feral scratching at his arms and neck.

“Let me get a good look at this face,” The man says and with a flick of his hand rips Dream’s mask off. It catches his nose and leaves a distressing throb in his face.

“ _Ooooh_! There you _are_!” He croons and grips Dream’s face with his other hand, completely ignoring the hands beating bruises into his arms. He snaps Dream’s face to the side to get a better look at the long scar running along his forehead to cheek and the faded green eye it passes over. A deep, cruel chuckle drops hot air across Dream’s face as the other leans down.

“Did I do this? Didn’t make it away from that TNT unscathed, aye?”

Dream’s eyes go unfocused at the memory of frantic hands ripping the deadly bundle from his clothing. The heavy air making it hard to breath, the hand that had gripped his throat moments before throwing him through the portal now back around his neck. A fear filled whine leaves him without his permission.

“Aw, scared without your big bad Alpha to protect you?” The man mocks, then _pauses_ heavily. The hand holding his face drops and goes to the collar of his shirt, ripping it down. It sends anxiety through Dream’s veins. Any Omega is protective of their neck and having a hostile Alpha strip it bare causes panic to shoot through him vehemently.

“No mating marks? _Really_?” A loud growl follows the statement, and they look over to see Techno pinned to the floor by three guys. The man laughs loudly, “Too much of a pussy, are ya?”

The man focuses back to him and leans in close, entire body hovering over Dream’s. It makes him feel smaller than he has in a very, _very_ long time. He doesn’t want to look the man in the face, so he turns away and gets a view of George and Sapnap being held tightly by a small group of the men. They’re having a hard time prying the crossbow from the Omega’s fingers. Phil is still standing, but barely, his pride the only thing keeping him on his feet. Techno’s eyes lock with his when he finally makes it to the Alpha. There is fear there, but not for himself.

“I could do better,” Dream hears the words be proclaimed next to his ear and it makes his eyes go wide with Techno’s following suit at the implications they hold. A plume of hot breath and the tippy top of fangs touch his skin and something inside Dream _revolts_ violently. His hand meets flesh in a feral motion, clawing at the skin it catches. A terrible, petrified noise leaves Dream at the same moment the man on top of him cries out in pain.

Suddenly, he is free, cool air flowing to overtake all the places that the man’s body heat had been filling and it’s a _relief_. Dream’s arms and legs move on autopilot, scrambling to make it over to Techno before he can be grabbed again. He doesn’t make it – a furious foot connects with his ribs, sending him rolling across the snow.

“Grab him and take him to the cells. The others can go there as well, but I expect them to be nowhere near one another. They’re the plotting type. _Go_!” The leader barks, clutching his face as blood runs through his fingers. Multiple pairs of hands grip onto Dream and drag him through the snow and hard stone as he claws desperately to get to Techno with a wanting keen.

Techno bucks wildly, trying to dislodge the men holding him down, but more come to aid in the operation to keep him captive and he finds the weight too much to push back against. Ropes and chains are pulled from belts and used to bind the group tightly.

Then, Techno watches horrified as Dream is forcefully dragged away him. 


End file.
